State v. Dockery

604 S.E.2d 368, 166 N.C. App. 760, 2004 N.C. App. LEXIS 1991
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedOctober 19, 2004
DocketNo. COA03-1666
StatusPublished

This text of 604 S.E.2d 368 (State v. Dockery) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Dockery, 604 S.E.2d 368, 166 N.C. App. 760, 2004 N.C. App. LEXIS 1991 (N.C. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

WYNN, Judge.

Defendant Timothy Dwight Dockery appeals from a judgment entered consistent with jury verdicts finding him guilty of felony larceny, damaging a coin or currency-operated machine, breaking into a coin or currency-operated machine, and willful and wanton damage to real property. Defendant stipulated to attaining habitual felon status. Defendant argues the trial court erred by (1) denying his motion to dismiss the charge of felonious larceny based on insufficiency of the evidence; (2) declining to give Defendant's requested jury instruction; and (3) failing to dismiss the remaining charges against him. For the reasons stated herein, we find no error by the trial court. The State's evidence tended to show that on the night of 19 December 2001, Deputy Heath Hannon and Lieutenant Greg Carpenter of the Union County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic dispute at Michael Gridley's residence on Plyer Mill Road in Union County, North Carolina. Upon arrival, Deputy Hannon noticed Gridley's Dodge-brand truck and a burgundy sport utility vehicle ("SUV") parked outside the residence. Inside the residence, the officers spoke with Gridley and his girlfriend, Nicole Bradford. Several individuals between nineteen and twenty years of age were also present at the Gridley residence. After addressing the dispute between Gridley and Bradford, the officers departed.

One hour later, Deputy Hannon and Lieutenant Carpenter responded to another domestic dispute at the Gridley residence. Deputies Quick and Benton also responded to the call. Deputy Hannon noticed the burgundy SUV was no longer parked at the residence. The officers quelled the domestic situation. Anticipating that they would be called back to the residence, the officers decided to park at a church less than a mile away on Plyer Mill Road. When Deputy Quick turned into the church lot, a burgundy SUV, similar to the one previously parked at the Gridley residence, pulled out onto Plyer Mill Road traveling at a high rate of speed. The officers activated their vehicles' emergency lights and pursued the burgundy SUV. The officers lost sight of the SUV, but soon found it abandoned in a nearby soybean field. A search revealed a pry bar in the back of the SUV. While one of the officers remained with the SUV, Lieutenant Carpenter located a"coin box lying along the side of Plyer Mill Road." Lieutenant Carpenter advised all Union County Sheriff's vehicles and the Monroe Police Department that they should look out for a damaged car wash or some place that had money changing machines. After the Monroe police informed the Sheriff's Office that a stolen money changer had been reported, Deputy Hannon returned to the church yard area and discovered the hopper component of a money changing machine behind the church.

Detective Beth Greene of the Monroe Police Department went to the soybean field, inspected the SUV and ran a license check on the vehicle. At this time, the daughter of the owner of the SUV arrived at the field. After questioning the daughter, police drove to the Gridley residence. Upon a search of the residence, Detective Greene found Adam McFalls in a back room lying on the floor halfway under a bed with a large pile of quarters, Defendant and William Gridley in a closet in another room, and Sean Gridley outside the residence walking toward a neighbor's yard. After Defendant's arrest, Detective Greene found approximately forty loose quarters in Defendant's pockets. After receiving their Miranda rights, all the suspects gave Detective Greene statements implicating all of them in the theft of the money changer.

James Cox, who owned five car washes, drove to one of his car washes after receiving a phone call from one of his employees and found a large hole in the wall where a coin changer was previously located. Cox testified he had purchased money changing machines for the past twenty-five years and that he paid $2,000.00 for thestolen money changer ten years ago. Cox further testified he had recently replaced the validator of the stolen machine at a cost of approximately $800.00 and that it would cost approximately $400.00 to $500.00 to replace the controller and the hopper components respectively. He also testified that repairs to the stolen money changing machine would have been approximately $1,500.00. Cox testified there was no market for used parts for money changers and that he knew of no used money changers on the market at the time his was stolen. Cox eventually bought a less expensive model money changing machine for $1,500.00.

Defendant moved to dismiss the larceny charge for insufficient evidence of the fair market value of the money changer. The trial court denied the motion. William Gridley and Thomas McFalls testified on behalf of Defendant. Defendant renewed his motion to dismiss, which the trial court denied. Upon return of the jury verdicts, the trial court sentenced Defendant to eighty to 105 months' imprisonment. Defendant appealed.

On appeal, Defendant argues the trial court erred by (1) denying his motion to dismiss the charge of felonious larceny based on insufficiency of the evidence; (2) declining to give Defendant's requested jury instruction; and (3) failing to dismiss the remaining charges against him. We find no error by the trial court.

Defendant first contends the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss based on insufficiency of the evidence. Defendant argues that the State failed to offer sufficient evidence of the value of the coin machine to sustain a conviction for felonious larceny. We disagree.

The standard for ruling on a motion to dismiss "is whether there is substantial evidence (1) of each essential element of the offense charged and (2) that defendant is the perpetrator of the offense." State v. Lynch, 327 N.C. 210, 215, 393 S.E.2d 811, 814 (1990). Substantial evidence is that relevant evidence which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. State v. Patterson, 335 N.C. 437, 449-50, 439 S.E.2d 578, 585 (1994). In ruling on a motion to dismiss, the trial court must consider all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, and the State is entitled to all reasonable inferences which may be drawn from the evidence. State v. Davis, 130 N.C. App. 675, 679, 505 S.E.2d 138, 141 (1998).

To convict a defendant of felonious larceny, it must be shown that he: (1) took the property of another, (2) with a value of more than $1,000.00, (3) carried it away, (4) without the owner's consent, and (5) with the intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently. State v. Reeves, 62 N.C. App. 219, 223,

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Related

State v. Lynch
393 S.E.2d 811 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1990)
State v. Morris
339 S.E.2d 834 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1986)
State v. Choppy
547 S.E.2d 817 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2001)
State v. Patterson
439 S.E.2d 578 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1994)
State v. Golden
546 S.E.2d 163 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2001)
State v. Helms
418 S.E.2d 832 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1992)
State v. Davis
505 S.E.2d 138 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1998)
State v. Morris
350 S.E.2d 91 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1986)
State v. Reeves
302 S.E.2d 658 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1983)
State v. Dees
187 S.E.2d 433 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1972)
State v. Choppy
539 S.E.2d 44 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
604 S.E.2d 368, 166 N.C. App. 760, 2004 N.C. App. LEXIS 1991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dockery-ncctapp-2004.